kindergarten skills assessment

i don't know who was more nervous about the assessment - me or madelyn. i was worried that she would "play dumb" (like she does with me) or get upset that she didn't know something (more like mommy than I would like). but what had madelyn in tears at the mere thought of being asked to do it? the balance beam.

since siblings were not invited, i had found a friend who would watch mason and maddux for an hour or two while i took madelyn.  she was already pretty bummed that they got to play at a house that we had not been to before so i wasn't too surprised that there were tears.  what surprised me was that she was crying over being asked to walk a balance beam.

at the open house last night, the principal was just making friendly small talk with her and mentioned that when she came today she was going to get to do some fun things with mrs. d like look at pictures, throw a ball and walking on a balance beam.  i think all madelyn heard was balance beam.

now madelyn isn't really afraid of a balance beam.  she has done lots of balance activities before without any problems or "falling".  maybe it was watching the olympics this summer but madelyn was terrified that she might fall and get hurt.  the worst part was when she said, "but what it i fall and you aren't there to catch me?"  ouch.  like a knife to the heart.

we had a discussion about how mrs. d was going to do her best to keep madelyn safe at school and that she didn't have to do anything she didn't feel was safe.  she still needed four tissues to keep in her pockets when we got there (and it had to be four - two in each pocket).  once inside the school, i gave her a kiss on her palm so that my love could be with her if she got scared.  she really liked that and put it straight to her cheek.  and then she asked for a second kiss for the other hand to use on the balance beam.

i got a little emotional as she walked off with her teacher for the evaluation.  while she was getting 'evaluated', i (and four other parents - one for each kindergarten teacher doing testing) met with the principal in the library to go over logistics of pick-up/drop-off, school rules, etc.  the principal seems like a nice guy who is passionate about what he does and making school a positive experience.  he reminds me a lot of my elementary school principal.

when madelyn and i were finished and heading to pick-up the boys she told me about what she did.  the "balance beam" - a piece of tape on the floor!  she had to walk forward, backwards and sideways on it.  even she laughed that she had ever been scared of it.  she also had to throw/catch a ball, hop on one foot and identify letters on a page.  she told me she missed one because they weren't in order and she thought it was a "V" when it was a "Y".  she didn't think it was a big deal because she knew what it was; she just didn't look closely enough before answering - or so she told me.  she said that there were also pictures where she had to pick out two items that rhymed, which she said was easy. and that was all she could remember.

it seems like it was all and all a positive experience and she enjoyed getting to spend one-on-one time with her new teacher.  she is just disappointed that she has to wait until next week to see her again!  love.